The selection of grape varieties for planting is a difficult and responsible task. Those who are not going to engage in winemaking and want to grow tasty grapes for fresh consumption, while looking for an unpretentious variety that yields a crop with minimal care, you should pay attention to the hybrid called Bazhena. About him and described in the review below.

Selection history

Bazhena is a hybrid obtained 10 years ago as a result of crossing two varieties: Arcadia (also known as Nastya) and Gift Zaporozhye.

Did you know? For the first time, grapes were grown in the Middle East (West Asia), as well as in the Caucasus and in the territory of modern Turkey and Iran. The history of the cultivation of this plant has from 6 to 8 thousand years. "Ancestors" Bazheny:

Bazhena	Arcadia	Moldova
		Cardinal
	Gift Zaporozhye	Kesha-1
		Tsysa steady
		Esther

The author of Bazheny is the famous breeder V. Zagorulko, who lives and works in the village of Kamenskoye, Zaporizhzhya region, and over the past decade and a half has created many successful varieties and hybrids that differ in large fruits and bunches, as well as early ripening.

Grade description

Assessing the new hybrid, experts note that V. Zagorulko managed to create grapes that took high yield from Arcadia, excellent taste and excellent appearance of the bunch, and from the Zaporizhzhya variety - early ripening, endurance and immunity to fungal diseases. Thus, Bazhena is an improved Arcadia.

Read more about other table grape varieties:

Photo gallery

Appearance

The morphological and technical features of the hybrid are as follows:

Bush	Ungrafted bushes grow lush and tall, the maximum thickness at the base is 10 cm
Vine growth per year	2–4 m (approximately 85%)
Leaves	Soft, medium-sized, do not create shading to clusters
Flowers	Bisexual, which contributes to easy pollination - both independently and with the help of bees
Bunches	Large, medium density, fruits are firmly held and do not crumble
Berries	Large: weight 10–20 g, dimensions - 4 cm in length and 2.0–2.5 cm in width. The shape is cylindrical, slightly oblong and tapering towards the end of the berry, resembling a chicken egg. The skin color is green with a yellowish tinge.
Aging Percentage	80–85%, with professional care 95–100%
Ripening dates (number of days from the beginning of the growing season)	105-110
Productivity	25–35 kg from the bush, the first fruiting - in the third year after planting
Frost resistance	Average

Grape application

Bazhena refers to table varieties of white grapes. The main use of the crop is fresh consumption. The taste qualities of berries cannot be called ideal, but for a super-early and unpretentious hybrid, they are at a decent level. The balance of sweets and sourness in the fruits is sustained, they have a pleasant aroma reminiscent of cherries, and at the stage of overriding - an apple or pear. At the same time, the peel of the berries is not very dense, it easily bites and does not interfere with the enjoyment of the taste of a juicy and fleshy core.

Bazhen can be used to make homemade wine, juice, as well as preservation (jam, jam, compotes), although technical varieties are still more suitable for such purposes - it is a pity to send early ripe and large-fruited white grapes to the harvesting.

Important! The opinion that from table grape varieties wine is obtained of lower quality than from wine is wrong. This happens only if rotted, ripened or rejected berries are put on fermentation, which cannot be done.

Advantages and disadvantages

• For a short period of its existence, Bazhena managed to fall in love with winegrowers and ordinary summer residents thanks to such advantages:
• early maturity (according to this indicator, the hybrid is ahead of Arcadia by at least 7–10 days), which allows the hybrid to be grown in regions where summers are not very long;
• easy rooting of the vine and its rapid growth;
• no pollination problems due to bisexual flowers;
• large fruits (almost twice as many as those of the Odessa variety) with a lack of tendency to pea, dry and crack;
• high resistance to fungal infections (on a 5-point scale, immunity to gray rot is rated at "5", resistance to other types of rot, oidium, downy mildew - at "3.5");
• simplicity and low cost of care;
• ability to withstand temperature changes, as well as lack or excess of moisture in the soil without loss of taste;
• good crop mobility and excellent commercial qualities, mainly due to large brushes with the same berries and their tight retention on the stalks;
• low losses from wasp attacks (due to the specific flavor of berries);
• long periods of storage of the harvest (on the vine, fully ripened clusters can remain for 2-3 weeks without external signs of spoilage, moreover, even lying on the ground with unsuccessful garter or pruning, the grapes can ripen and maintain their presentation).

• Parameters by which Bazhena is inferior to the reference table white grape varieties:
• less high and stable yield;
• the need for pruning and pinching;
• average indicators of frost resistance, the need for wrapping and dripping;
• palatability is high, but not impeccable (on a 5-point scale, the hybrid received a rating of "4.5");
• the color of the fruit is not golden honey, as in the more expensive varieties, but greenish, especially at the ripening stage;
• tightening the skin and thinning the pulp when overripe (it is recommended to harvest the crop in the early stages of technical maturity);
• instability to aphids, snails (due to soft leaves) and grape itching.

Proper fit

The procedure for planting a vine is determined by standard rules. The first thing you need to think about: how much the selected variety is suitable for growing in a specific climate. Bazhena is an ideal option for regions where climatic conditions are characterized as moderate, that is, summers are not too hot and winters are not very frosty.

If the climate corresponds to the variety, you can start preparing the place, buying a seedling and planting it in the ground. Did you know? The vine lives on average 3-4 decades. However, in Slovenia, in the city of Maribor, there is a vineyard in which the bushes have been bearing fruit for four hundred years, and each year several bottles of elite wine are produced from the resulting crop.

How to choose healthy seedlings when buying?

When buying vines should be guided by the following recommendations and tips:

Purchase time	To plant a seedling in the spring, they dig it out in the fall. However, for the storage of vines, special conditions are needed that are difficult to create for an inexperienced summer resident. Therefore, you need to buy a bush immediately before planting.
Place of purchase	Specialized store or familiar winegrower. Buying vines on the market or “on the road” is fraught with the fact that in a few years, a lovingly grown bush can bring the wrong grape harvest that was expected to be produced.
Vines age	1-2 years. The older the plant, the harder it takes root. At the age of 1 year, the vine has a height of 40 to 55 cm.
Appearance of a seedling	The thickness at the very bottom is at least 0.5 cm with one shoot and at least 0.8 mm in total with two shoots. Color - brown (shades allowed). The absence of spots and cracks.
Kidney	4–5, well formed, do not fall off the touch.
Root system	Developed, the minimum number of root processes is 3, their thickness is 1.5–2 mm. It is desirable that the processes were directed not in one but in different directions. Not allowed: swelling, cracks, thickening, wounds, traces of pest damage, transparency (experts advise inspecting the roots in the light or even carefully scrape with a finger). At the cut, the roots should be light and moist, in appearance and consistency similar to cut raw potatoes.
Leaves	At least 4-6 pieces. The color of the leaves should be saturated green. Not allowed: yellowness, spots, twisting, too light shade.
Pulp	Juicy, moist and green (do not be afraid to cut a small portion of the top or scrape off a little bark).
Elasticity	A healthy vine does not break when bent (however, slight crackling is allowed).

Where to plant on the site?

For Bazheny, it is necessary to choose the sunniest and warmest place on the site, it is desirable that this is the south side.

Important! North winds are dangerous for the vine, so the walls of the house or other shelter from the north at a distance of 2–2.5 m will come in handy. Warming up during the day, such a surface will give up accumulated heat to the bush all night. The proximity of groundwater (higher than 4-5 m from the surface of the earth) is dangerous for the deep root system of grapes, so it is better to plant it on an elevated site. Such a place will protect the bush from stagnation of water after melting snows or prolonged rains.

As for the composition of the soil, grapes are not very demanding on it. Fertile and nutritious land will ensure the rapid development of the bush and high yields, but it can also take root on poor soils of Bazhen. It is important that the substrate has good moisture and air permeability, is light and loose, has a neutral or slightly acidic reaction (pH level in the range of 5.5–7.0). On sandy soil, the vine grows well, but stone and clay are unacceptable.

How to plant?

The best time to plant a vine is spring, although the autumn period can also be used. In spring, the time is chosen in such a way that the average daily temperature is approximately + 10 ... + 12 ° С, in autumn - so that at least 8 weeks remain before frosts.

You need to plant the vine at a distance of no closer than 5 m to each other, the bush should be separated from the trees about 6 m, from the bushes - at least 2 m. Do you know? The most expensive grape variety can rightly be called the Roman Rubin. In 2016, at an auction in Japan, a very small brush of this berry, which weighed only 0.7 kg, “ went under the hammer ” for 10.9 thousand US dollars.

The landing pit is prepared in advance, it is better to do this since the fall. The pit should be deep and wide, about 1 × 1 m. A drainage layer is laid on the bottom (broken brick, screenings, sand), covered with a layer of straw from above and left until spring.

The landing procedure is carried out according to this scheme:

1. The purchased seedling is exempted from packaging. The roots are shortened by 3 cm, damaged and diseased processes are removed.
2. During the day, the roots of the seedling are soaked in a growth stimulator (Kornevin, Epin, Zircon), you can also add a little potassium permanganate or aloe juice to the solution for disinfection.
3. From clay, water and vermicompost, a thick slurry is kneaded, into which the roots of a seedling are dipped, after which they must be left to dry.
4. At the same time, a large amount of water is poured into the pit so that it can completely absorb.
5. Then, at the bottom of the pit, a hill is poured from the fertile earth, onto which a seedling is set at an angle of 40 ° so that the roots diverge down the “slopes”. Growth buds should be located to the north, and the root heel - to the south. The root neck should be just above ground level.
6. A plastic pipe with a diameter of up to 10 cm and a height of about 1.5 m is installed on the edge of the pit. It is necessary for watering the vines during the first years of life.
   

7. The pit is covered with fertile soil, ramming it as it is filled, but not completely, but so that 15-20 cm remain to the surface of the earth.
8. The lower part of the bush from the surface of the earth to the edges of the pit is wrapped with a 1.5–2 liter plastic bottle cut along the length (the neck and bottom of the bottle should also be cut to make a pipe similar).
9. The plastic is fixed using a rigid wire.
10. Sand or fine gravel is poured inside the pipe.
11. The near-stem circle is watered abundantly, and when the water is absorbed, it is loosened or mulched.

Two years after planting, the plastic bottle around the trunk, as well as the irrigation pipe, is removed. This trick prevents the formation of abundant basal shoots and provides the initial correct formation of the bush.

Care Tips

Subject to Bazhen’s planting technology, it’s easy to take root, however, in order to achieve a high yield, the vine must be properly maintained in the future.

Watering

Grapes are a moisture-loving culture, thanks to deep-lying roots an adult vine is able to independently extract water from the soil, but young plants need additional watering.

Important! When watering, it is necessary to ensure that water does not fall not only on the leaves, but also on the vine. It is better to dig a bush in a moat at a distance of 0.5 m from the trunk and pour water into this recess. Watering grapes should be rare, but plentiful - 40-50 liters per bush.

The water should be warm, otherwise the ripening time of the crop may slow down. Sometimes, cold water during the first spring watering is used specifically to protect the vine from premature awakening in conditions when frosts are still possible.

4 waterings are done per season:

• immediately after removal of the shelter;
• two weeks before flowering;
• after flowering is complete;
• a week before pruning and sheltering for the winter (in this case, the amount of water can be increased one and a half times, especially if the autumn turned out to be dry, this will make it easier for the winters to winter).

Learn how to water grapes correctly in the summer.

During flowering and the formation of fruit brushes, the vine should not be watered, this will reduce the quality of the crop and its keeping quality.

For young seedlings, a different irrigation regime is needed. The procedure is carried out using 5 to 20 liters of water per bush - first once a week, and by the middle of summer twice a month with a gradual increase in the interval between irrigation.

Prop and garter shoots

The large-fruited Bazhena needs reliable support. Since the brush laying occurs near the ground, it is inconvenient to launch a hybrid on the arbor. For these purposes, low trellises are suitable, between which 2-3 rows of wire are stretched at a height of 50–70, 120–140 and 180–200 cm, respectively.

It is advisable to foresee the construction, material and concrete location of such supports in advance before planting a bush so that during the first year of life the vine can be properly shaped and guided.

Top dressing

If the vine is planted in properly prepared soil, the first 3-4 years, the bush can not be fed. Then you should enrich the earth with organic and mineral fertilizers, for example, according to this scheme:

Application Time	Composition per bush	General recommendations
Early spring, the beginning of the growing season	superphosphate - 40-50 g; urea - 40 g; potassium sulfate - 20-30 g	Fertilizers are instilled dry to the depth of the bayonet spade around the bush (at a distance of about 50 cm from the trunk). On top of the mixture, you can lay a layer of humus.
A week before flowering	10 l of organic fertilizer prepared on the basis of: manure or chicken droppings; dandelion or nettle leaves.	Organics are mixed with water and insisted under a closed lid for three days, then diluted again with water at a concentration of 1:10 (for litter, the solution saturation should be reduced by one and a half times).
Berry formation	superphosphate - 40-50 g; potassium sulfate - 20-30 g	Make in dry or liquid form
2-3 weeks before harvest	superphosphate - 40-50 g; potassium sulfate - 20-30 g	Make in dry or liquid form
A month after harvest (every 2-3 years)	humus - 50 l; chopped wood ash - 3 l	Organics are distributed in the near-stem circle, then the soil is well loosened and dug.

In addition to root dressing, grapes can be fertilized by spraying. To do this, you can use a self-prepared mixture (copper sulfate, boric acid, yogi and potassium permanganate - 1 g per 1 liter of water) or ready-made preparations, for example:

• "Aquarin";
• Kemira-Lux;
• "Master";
• Novofert;
• "Mortar";
• "Florovit."

Important! If you add a little sugar and vegetable oil to the solution for foliar dressing, the drug will stay on the leaves longer, will not drain and will not evaporate. Caution should be exercised with fertilizers, since their excess for Bazhena can be more dangerous than a deficit.

Soil care

Standard soil care in the near-stem circle includes the following procedures:

• weed removal - regularly;
• loosening - after each watering.

The use of mulch (peat, straw or sawdust) will avoid this work, save moisture in the soil and additionally fertilize it by next year due to the gradual decay of organic matter.

Shoot pruning

Timely and competent pruning of grapes is the key to the correct formation of a bush and a good harvest. The author of the hybrid recommends trimming Bazhen with a medium or long method, leaving 8 to 10 eyes on the vine. Since a large number of brushes are formed in the lower part of the bush, many experts with experience in growing Bazheni also practice more cardinal pruning - up to 6 and even up to 2-3 kidneys.

In addition, during the growing season, the hybrid produces many stepsons that do not bloom and do not bear fruit. So that excess green mass does not pull on additional life juices, these shoots are removed as they appear. Some winegrowers leave one kidney each in their stepsons, since a fruit brush may form at the base of the process.

It is better to form a bush in the fall, when the vine drops the leaves, but before the onset of the first frost, otherwise the stems will become brittle.

Important! Spring pruning is dangerous for juice separation, which can lead to rotting of the vine. During the growing season, you can only remove stepsons, diseased branches and leaves that obscure the clusters. Pruning an adult vine in a fan-like manner is carried out according to this scheme:

1. First, shoots located under the lower wire are removed.
2. Shoots of the current year, stretched to the second wire, are shortened by about 1/10 and get rid of stepsons.
3. At the level of the lower wire, the two strongest shoots are distinguished with a thickness of at least 10–15 mm, and it is important that they are located on different sides of the stem.
4. Нижний из отобранных побегов обрезают на высоте 3–4 глазков, из него будет формироваться ветка замещения.
5. Верхний побег укорачивают не так сильно, на нём нужно оставить примерно 10 почек, это — основа будущей плодовой ветки.

По этому принципу каждый год к кусту добавляется по паре новых побегов, пока их число не достигнет десятка. При этом старые ветки постепенно удаляют путём обрезки на высоте 2–3 глазков.

Cold protection

Невысокая морозостойкость Бажены требует от садовода принятия мер к тому, чтобы лоза зимой не замёрзла. Заняться этим лучше сразу после осенней обрезки куста.

Укрытие винограда делают так:

1. Приствольный круг обкапывают небольшим рвом примерно на штык лопаты (20 см в глубину).
2. Тонкие корни, на которые наткнулась лопата при обкапывании, обрезают и припудривают толчёным древесным углём для обеззараживания.
3. Ров засыпают песком.
4. Между рвом и стволом выкладывают толстый (20–25 см) слой торфа либо перегноя.
5. Побеги осторожно снимают с опоры и раскладывают вокруг ствола.
6. Если есть необходимость, можно приколоть ветки к земле, используя гнёт или «шпильки» из проволоки.
7. Выложенную на земле лозу накрывают толстым слоем опавших листьев, хвойных лап, соломы, древесных опилок или стружки.
8. Поверх «натурального» укрытия дополнительно выстилают мешковину, брезент, ветошь или другой плотный материал, хорошо пропускающий воздух. Можно с той же целью использовать листы рубероида или шифера.
9. После выпадения снега желательно намести на укрытие толстый сугроб и затем, по возможности, обновлять его.
10. При оттепели необходимо раскалывать обледенение поверх сугроба, чтобы к лозе постоянно поступал кислород.

Important! Если добавить в нижний слой укрытия ветки бузины, виноград в течение зимы не потревожат грызуны. Укрытие с лозы снимают после того, как в воздухе окончательно установится плюсовая температура. Если при тёплой весне есть основания ожидать ночных заморозков, лучше снять верхний слой укрытия или сделать в нём вентиляционные отверстия. Это убережёт виноград и от замерзания, и от не менее опасного перегрева.

Бажена — молодой теплолюбивый гибрид, который может выращиваться и отлично плодоносить не только в южных регионах. Благодаря устойчивости к неблагоприятным погодным условиям и болезням, ранним срокам созревания, высокой урожайности и вкусовым качествам этот белый столовый виноград успел завоевать популярность и среди дачников, и у профессиональных фермеров.